To Bob Town, it’s not something that is as simple as modesty. Fact is, when the 57- year-old former Olympian looks back at his basketball career, he openly admits that he was not that good when he graduated from Churchill High School.

“Really, I wasn’t,” says Town, even though his career took him all over the world and to the very edge of an Olympic medal podium.

“But the year I graduated, it was the year of the ’67 Pan Am Games here in Winnipeg. That really had an effect on me. Growing up, I remember going to the Central YMCA to watch my dad play and because he enjoyed the game so much, that inspired me to play. But watching the Pan Am Games… that inspired me to be the best I could be.”

Whether or not he became the best he could be, only Bob knows for sure. What every Manitoba basketball fan knows, however, is that Town was pretty darn good.

After leaving Churchill, he went on to star at the University of Manitoba where he led the Bisons to second place at the national championship in 1971 and was an All-Canadian and team captain in 1972. He then went on to play for the senior St. Andrews Super Saints where he won two national championships and was named to four tournament all-star teams.

In 1972, he was named to Canada’s national team and in five seasons as an international player, he went to the Pan Am Games, the World University Games and the 1976 Summer Olympics.

“I always said I was very lucky because I was able to enjoy the three Ms,” Town said. “In 1973 I went to Moscow for the World University Games, in ’75 I went to Mexico City for the Pan Am Games and in ’76, I went to Montreal for the Olympics.

“I loved the game and I enjoyed every opportunity I had to play. But the one thing I’ll always remember is that the people I played with made me a better player.”